Alabama Governor Robert Bentley Selected to Serve as ARC's 2014 States' Co-Chair February 2014

WASHINGTON, February 21, 2014—Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has been selected to serve as 2014 states' co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) by the governors of the 13 states in the Appalachian Region. He served previously as ARC's 2012 states' co-chair.

Bentley said he was honored to have been elected by his fellow governors to serve once more as the ARC states' co-chair: "I very much enjoyed serving in this position the last time and look forward to working with Federal Co-Chair Earl Gohl once again in moving our Appalachian Region forward. I've been a strong advocate for ARC throughout my time as a member of the Alabama State House of Representatives and as Alabama's governor. As the states' co-chair for 2014, I will continue to champion the purposeful work of the Commission."

Thirty-seven counties are located within the Appalachian region of Alabama and are eligible to receive ARC funding for projects. In all Appalachian states, projects are initiated at the community level with assistance from local development districts. In Alabama, the state's regional planning commissions serve as the local development districts and recommend projects for ARC funding to the governor.